A higher-dimensional incarnation, starting by leveraging the stars.

Chapter 132 Laurel Tree

Lunar uniform!

"What's the principle behind this?" Lu Yiran couldn't help but ask.

"Active biomechanical composite protection system. The name is not important. What is important is its logic."

He stretched out his finger and tapped on the concept image on the screen.

"Multi-layered structure, with each layer measured in micrometers in thickness. The innermost layer is a sensory layer composed of biological neurotransmitters, which adheres directly to the skin and monitors your every muscle movement, the composition of every drop of sweat, and every heartbeat in real time."

"The middle layer is the active regulatory layer. It is composed of countless tiny cellular units," each of which is an independent micromachine capable of regulating temperature, filtering air, neutralizing radiation, and locally hardening to form protection upon micrometeorite impact. They are interconnected through biological neurotransmitters, forming a unified intelligent network.

"The outermost layer is the environmental response layer. It can change its properties according to the external environment—it can maintain a tight seal in a vacuum, reflect heat in sunlight, and absorb and retain thermal energy in the shade."

Lu Yiran stared at the screen, her brain working frantically.

She had to admit that she couldn't keep up with Hu Biao's pace anymore.

After a long pause, she finally spoke.

"This—how is this even possible?" Her voice trembled slightly. "These functions you're talking about, how much technology would they require?"

Technology? To what extent can it be miniaturized to be integrated into a single membrane? Where does the energy come from? Where does the oxygen come from? How is waste disposed of? And—”

Hu Biao smiled. "So, the brain is a good thing. You have to use it. This is the most basic reverse thinking. The traditional logic of spacesuits is to put a person into a canister, and the canister provides everything. My logic is to turn the astronaut into part of the canister."

"The lunar uniform isn't worn; it's an extension of your body. It's directly connected to your nervous system through biological neurotransmitters—"

Hu Biao spoke for half an hour, while Lu Yiran was forcibly controlled for half an hour.

Half an hour later, Lu Yiran stared blankly at Hu Biao, her thoughts completely immersed in that shock.

A sense of bewilderment mingled with despair.

From elementary school to high school, she was always seen as a top student, with excellent grades, winning competitions, and being recommended to prestigious universities.

She thought she was different from ordinary people.

Even after attending a prestigious university in Beijing, a place teeming with academic superstars, she still managed to maintain the second-highest grade in her major, published papers, and won a national scholarship.

She felt that even if she wasn't the absolute best, she was at least among the excellent ones.

But now, she suddenly understood a saying: sometimes, the difference between people is greater than the difference between people and dogs!

"Feed." Hu Biao's voice pulled her back from her thoughts. "What are you thinking about?"

Lu Yiran raised her head, took a deep breath, and suppressed the shock in her heart. Just as she was about to speak, she suddenly thought of something.

"Wait a minute." She frowned. "Since you already designed it, why did you even start this research group? Isn't this—a waste?"

"Who said this research group's goal is to design lunar spacesuits?"

Lu Yiran was taken aback.

"What you just said—" She pointed to the screen instinctively.

"That was just an appetizer, something we added on the spot," Hu Biao interrupted her. "The lunar environment is one of the most hospitable in the universe. No atmosphere, no life, extreme temperature differences, radiation—it sounds scary, but compared to other places, it's practically a vacation paradise."

"Our research project is a systematic engineering endeavor, designing different equipment for different environments. For example, Venus has a surface temperature of 460 degrees Celsius, an atmospheric pressure 90 times that of Earth, and sulfuric acid rain falling from the sky. And Mars? Mars has a thin atmosphere, extreme dryness, and global dust storms—"

"Humans will have to go to these places someday. With these canister-like spacesuits? Let alone going there, just imagining it..."

"Think about it carefully, and you'll know it's impossible."

"Our goal is to systematically study survival in various extraterrestrial environments," said Hu Biao. "The moon is just the first step. We're using the most suitable environment to practice and verify our design concepts and implementation paths. Then we'll gradually upgrade to cope with more extreme environments."

"I told my teacher before that humanity's scientific and technological focus has gone a bit astray. We are carbon-based life forms, but we are researching silicon-based technology, which is a thankless task."

As he spoke, he picked up the biological neurotransmitter from the sealed bag, waved it in front of her, and said, "This is my first attempt, and the results are quite good."

"Now, do you understand?"

Lu Yiran opened her mouth, wanting to say "I understand," but found that she couldn't utter a word.

She simply nodded mechanically.

Hu Biao smiled with satisfaction, raised his hand, and looked at the time on his phone.

"Alright, you can go back now and take a closer look at my paper. Oh, by the way—"

He seemed to have an idea. "I sent you an email with a piece of AI code. Try integrating it into your program and see how it works. That's all!"

Lu Yiran stood up dazedly, walked out of the office in a daze, and stared blankly at the strange looks from others.

He sat back down at his workstation.

That appearance clearly led others to misunderstand.

OK!

In addition to embezzling funds, Hu Biao has another charge against him.

Girls are sexually exploited!

This is a dividing line. "There's definitely a problem here!"

In his office, Hu Biao didn't care what the people outside were thinking. Instead, he turned on his computer, which contained an analysis report.

This is not a project his current research group is working on, but rather a research report from the Second Institute of Botany on a withered plant branch left behind by a second civilization.

"Wow, this thing is totally tailor-made for the moon! No wonder the teacher gave it to me!!"

This branch looks like a dead twig, but analysis reveals that its structure is unlike any other plant in the world.

The cell wall consists of two layers: the outer layer is as dense as ceramic, impenetrable even by hydrogen atoms; the inner wall is embedded with nanoscale pure iron particles.

The particles, dense and like countless tiny mirrors, can repeatedly reflect and slow down intruding radiation particles, eventually trapping them in the cavity between the two walls.

The cavity was filled with a strange viscous liquid, composed of organic complexes of rare earth elements.

Although the amount is small, tests have shown that this mucus can slowly break down, recombine into water and oxygen, and then be released through the wood fibers.

It sounds complicated, but it's actually very simple: photosynthesis. It's about a plant that can photosynthesize on the moon, absorbing components from the lunar soil and cosmic radiation as oxygen and releasing oxygen. That's all.

In other words, if this were alive and planted on the moon, and if it could survive and in sufficient numbers, it could release large amounts of oxygen on the moon.

The botanical institute named this plant the laurel tree!

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